


Coming Home

by fairytalehearts



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Gotham (TV)
Genre: DC Characters - Freeform, F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-18 10:39:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4702994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytalehearts/pseuds/fairytalehearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Selina always thought Bruce coming back to Gotham would be permanent. She was wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Resolute. Resolved. (Bruce)

**Author's Note:**

> I love Bruce and Selina so picture which even incarnation you'd like for this fic. I personally love Camren's hair and that's my inspiration for a few scenes.
> 
>   
> Inspired by New Found Glory's song, Coming Home.  
>  _And now I'm coming home  
>  I'm coming home to you again  
> I hope you feel the same  
> Now I'm coming home  
> I'm coming home to you again  
> I hope things haven't changed_  
> 

He had been home for three hours.

They had come into Gotham late at night, as they were prone to do and while he removed all the dust covers and opened his balcony up to air the dust out, he was tired from his flight.

He had just closed his eyes when he felt the weight shift on the mattress, Selina moving across the bed to cuddle against his side.

His head turned to his left, the side she was plastered to, and he thought about his father’s friend’s son in Starling, the one known for womanizing and peeing on cops and then to the strange ways he could tell it was Selina without even looking. About how in a different place, in a different time, they never would have met and he’d be- different.

Tilting her chin up, he kissed her with something that felt like finality. They would stay in Gotham for a few weeks and then he wanted to be on the first flight to the Middle East. He would have things resolved with Lucius and Selina and then start school in the winter. Resolute. Resolved.

She rolls over on top of him, and while he liked to think he was a logical and rational person, he is still a eighteen year old boy, and when sex was proposed his biological impulses tended to override his brain.

They’d done this before, the last time he came back to Gotham- a Christmas Party at Wayne Enterprises in a broom closet, but Selina takes her time kissing him and doing whatever she pleased, otherwise it’s messy and complicated between the two of them, but she whispers his name in his ear and some primal part of him thinks that they’ll last forever like this and he’d be alright with it.

She takes a rubber band off her wrist and snaps him with it before putting her mess of curls up and throwing and arm over him, already asleep before she hit the pillow.

He, long losing any sense of shame with Alfred, walks naked to the bathroom and throws the condom away in his trash can. Padding back to the bedroom he closes his eyes and wills himself to sleep. Instead he sees Selina, a happier Selina dancing at Penguin’s Club earlier that night, the new blonde boyfriend dancing with her, and how he might have been better for her. Those thoughts burn at him, not guilt, but a strange sort of acceptance that plagues him until he falls asleep.

Dreaming about other lives is the one solace he sees in his sleep, his father explaining the cave, his mother and her pearls. A life he can never have and maybe it’s then that he realizes he’s broken and damaged and he still doesn’t think he’s slumming it with Selina, but she makes him want to be better. A better person, a better man. A better 18 year old who’s quite possibly in love with the world’s most beautiful pickpocket who aspired to be the world’s most notorious cat burglar.

“You’re being weird, kid.” Selina’s voice wakes him up, and she’s propped up on one elbow, looking down at the arm that was clutching her midsection so hard she might have bruises.

“Selina. I’m 18. You can’t call me ‘kid’ anymore.”  Bruce informed her, sitting up and reaching over the side of the mattress for his pants. He had spent the summer studying with some monks and she, being Selina, had decided that was not a proper use of his time.

And while he knew the things Selina did while he was gone were not things he could condone-

Selina would always have a piece of his heart that he didn’t know how to get back.  He hadn’t even wanted to come back, if not for Captain Gordon’s insistence that he come back and at least pack up his things.

They didn’t talk about Selina staying with him or the small ring of criminals she was entertaining in her spare time. He had graduated High School early, as geniuses were prone to do and he thought with his dick instead of his head like always when it came to her.

“You’re going to break his heart, Cat.” Bruce said gently, looking over his shoulder between putting his loafers on to watch her zip up the dress, the price tag still attached to the zipper.

“You’re going to break Alfred’s. Probably already have.” She snapped back, poking him, her finger stabbing him right between his broken ribs. She wordlessly unraveled three months of hard work in less than ten seconds, “I don’t even know why you came back.”

Bruce, if he were a slave to his emotions, would point out that she was the one sleeping in his bed. And that she was the one in his house. Instead, he focuses his energy on the inside and holds a hand to her face that had definitely matured while he was away.

Selina had become a woman in front of his eyes. Her hair was still wild and unruly, but her face had lost its roundness. She had always been beautiful, but she was growing into herself in ways he’d always hoped she’d find.

“I came back to see you. Before I leave again.”

“You flew 3,000 miles for a booty call?”

“I will always come back for you. Booty or otherwise.”

Selina cocks a hip at him while they walk down to the kitchen, where Alfred has already made three plates of food. Bruce doesn’t question Alfred's foresight but eats his pancakes in silence. The two of them share pleasantries, Selina scraping the bacon off her plate and onto his while she talks about college.

She’s wearing a dress that stretches in all of the right ways and when he goes to train, she’s there with a whip. Cracking her neck to the sides like a boxer, she assumes an offensive stance and motions for him to attack her.

Sweeping her feet from underneath her, he twisted in the air to catch the whip and tucked it into the back of his pants before he landed, “First: We stretch.”

Selina’s one extracurricular activity in school was Gymnastics and she begrudgingly removed her impractical heels and hiked her dress up enough to pull on a pair of his sweatpants Alfred conveniently left next to some fresh towels.

She bends and twists and stretches and he copies her motions before she backflips and starts at him.

He was trained by the best masters he could find. There was discipline and insight and strategy. She was raised in an environment where the person who threw the second punch died. Reading people was what she excelled at and while he may be used to telegraphing punches, she goes straight for his bruised ribs making him call out in pain.

The whip is already in her hands and dodging Selina was hard enough without a weapon in her hands.

Grabbing whatever he could get a grip on, he chucked a water bottle, his shoes and finally her shoes before she cracked the whip, the end wrapping perfectly around the instep so the spike was coming right at his face-

Ducking into a split he probably should have landed, he brought himself back up and dove into a somersault, grabbing the weapon out of her hand.

“You should see me jump off a building and really fly.” Selina smirked putting her arms out and jumping towards his body. He scrambled to catch her but something told him she could care less if he did.

Laughing was a luxury he didn’t indulge in often but it always seemed to happen when she was around.

“You’ve improved.”

They both say the words at the same time and he laughs again.

He wasn't worried about the heel taking out his eye, if Selina truly meant to hurt him, he’d be dead. For some reason that was a comfort and if she were show up again before he left, he would let her sleep in peace.


	2. Familiar Patterns (Selina)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce liked to think that he was understanding when it came to Selina's significant others- he just never figured he'd alienate both of them on the same day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Selina is bisexual. If that bothers you don't read this.   
> Also somehow i pictured her dating Eddie Thawne?

Looking down at her phone, she sent a quick text message to Lee before flinching when Bruce caught her jumping the fence to his driveway.

It was an unspoken ritual between the two of them- she would stay at Wayne Manor when he was back in town and Lee and Jimmy didn’t mention it when she didn’t come home for a few days. He had come back less often than normal and while she was twenty two and definitely too old to be living with people who weren’t her parents- she needed to see him.

“I was in Starling. You’re the one with surveillance equipment outside of the manor.” He was teasing her and aside from the physical pain of missing him, her heart- or what little of it was left- always hurt seeing him become more broken whenever he came back.

“Central City Picture News had pictures of you with Ted Grant at one of his matches. You’re either leaving me clues or getting sloppy, Brucie.”

She knew he was not getting sloppy. Whatever he was doing, whatever he was training for, he had been circling Gotham for the last few years. He was going to come home.

She didn’t mention the blonde he’d been pictured with in Paris.

He didn’t mention her either, but his hands cupped the back of her head and pulled her close for a kiss. She didn’t make it a habit to indulge in Bruce’s romantic notions but allows him to kiss her cheek before looking around.

“Is your boyfriend worried about you?”

Selina raises an eyebrow at him, before using her key in the lock to let them into Wayne Manor.

“Girlfriend?”

“Comedy is not your forte, Bruce.” Selina informs him, making sure to give him a little show with her hips. He had sent Alfred back to Gotham a year ago, the old place looked just as it did when she was a child. Stripping off her cardigan, she flung it on one of the arm chairs. Unzipping her blouse, she flung that towards the staircase and by the time her hands were on her skirt, Bruce had her pinned against the stairs.

Hefting her into one arm, he carried her up the stairs in her underwear.

If her memory was correct (which it was) he had studied with a few master assassins, a professional boxer and a karate master. He had muscles and no longer looked like the lost little boy she fell in love with.

He was someone else.

“I am going to devour you.” He promised lying her down on the bed gently and drawing the canopy down around them. It was completely dark, she couldn’t see Bruce’s face, but she felt his hands go to her underwear and drag them over her hips.

She had changed while he was gone too, at least she hoped she did and when his mouth was against her flesh her fingers dug into his scalp, urging him on. Bringing her knees up to cradle his head, she briefly wondered if her girlfriend would mind catching the two of them like this.

She would want to join probably and she did not share Bruce with anyone.

Biting her lip to keep from calling out, she rolled the two of them over, shifting her knees against the mattress to grind against his nose.

“Come up here and fuck me.” She demanded, watching entranced as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before kicking off his pants and joining her near the top of the bed. He was too gorgeous to be so perpetually damaged.

She supposed the same could be said about her.

Bruce hesitated, like he was solving a math problem and she rolled her shoulder to reveal a birth control patch.

“I wish I could stop the wanting.” He mumbled their bodies fitting together in familiar patterns.

His life would be easier without coming home. He wouldn’t be surrounded by memories and haunted by the things that he couldn’t change. But he came home for her and their lingering maybes would be enough.

“Then stop wanting and start taking.” Selina purred into his ear, maneuvering their bodies closer together. Once he was in side of her, he stilled collect his thoughts. The obscenities Bruce Wayne has whispered into her ear varied from year to year but this is the first time he’s said he loved her.

Arching her back she flips them over mid thrust and he flips them back fighting for dominance. She knows that he’ll let her win eventually but being flipped onto her back sent a jolt through her system she had never been able to fill with anyone else. Feelings, she didn’t feel for most humans, let alone herself, always swirled to the surface when they were alone.

Or he was just particularly built to properly fuck her. She liked to think it was both.

Grabbing his chin, she made him stop his very sexy concentrated face to look her in the eyes “I love you, Bruce. My boyfriend and girlfriend will just need to accept that.”

He smiles, and in his own twisted way he’s happy he’s deduced something from her.

Clenching around him, he swore, flipping them over again so he was on top. Bracing his arms against the headboard he did some truly acrobatic moves with his hips before she forgot how to breathe and before she could feel her toes or her fingers, he had pulled the two of them upwards.

She was more than happy to be heavy-limbed and take a nap feeling content, but Bruce had three things in his life: pain, Alfred, and her.

He would be gone another few weeks before he came back to Gotham. (Not that he would tell her that, she had done her own investigating earlier when Alfred was at the store and “left” the front door open even though she had made a key when she was 14).

“I do- love you. You know that, right?” Bruce is suddenly coy and if saying I love you was an explanation for his absence.

“Yes.”

Selina is 22 the first time someone says they love her. She was 13 when someone first felt it for her, and 18 when she first meant it for someone else. She would never forget that for the rest of her life- feeling and knowing love were two very different things.

She still does enjoy sneaking out of the bedroom at night and the next morning, Bruce has Alfred drop him outside of the clock tower. He is Bruce Wayne and doesn’t need to break into places, so he charms building security into letting him up.

He has a pearl necklace and a new pair of goggles he’d been tinkering with, complete with thermal imaging capabilities and she would have taken off her clothes right there, but Pam was over talking about her doctorate and Sylvie, her sometimes girlfriend was making them lunch and fucking your childhood- whatever he was- while your friends were in the other room wasn’t classy. Which she told him. Repeatedly.

“I’m on vacation. I do whatever I want.” Bruce motioned down to his linen pants and white untucked button down shirt and put his feet up on her coffee table.

“Bruce owns the building.” Pam pointed out when she tells him to get his feet off the table, “He lets me stay here rent free.” Like that was an excuse.

Sylvie comes to the table, her arms loaded with plates and takes once glance at her, tucked against Bruce’s side and puts the plates down and leaves the apartment. Bruce is smug, for the first time in years and he takes a bite out of the bruschetta before handing to her.

Selina supposes she should feel bad about Sylvie, but she’s madder at Bruce for being a showoff-jerk.

“Thank god, she was a strange one.” Pam mumbled scooping up some pasta for herself before heading back towards her room, “Don’t have sex on any communal furniture or near my plants.”

“Mom and Dad have a brownstone on the nice part of town. As part of his perpetual guilt he lets Ivy stay here and I’m never sleeping with you when they’re in the next room over.”

Bruce doesn’t say anything but shoves food into his mouth.

According to the information she obtained from Alfred he was going to be in town for at least a year and she planned on making the most of it.

Wearing Bruce’s shirt over her leggings had seemed like a good idea until dinner when they were eating outside at Gotham’s most exclusive restaurant and  her actual boyfriend is there working a case.

How Bruce managed to get both of her significant others in one day was a mystery.

“Selina?”

She was feeding Bruce chocolate mousse when Eddie approached them. Shit. She freezes because she’d never had two people in her life care about her at the same time and because while she may enjoy Eddie’s company, he is no Bruce Wayne. And while her brain appreciates the realization for what it was, her heart felt shitty.

And of course Bruce senses her hesitation, slowly removing the foot he had been playing footsie with, with one last reassuring caress. Bruce leans forward to take the bite before standing up and holding out his hand, “Bruce Wayne.”

_“Bruce!”_

Hearing her father’s voice had killed the romantic mood more than Eddie’s presence. The three of them clam up when he walks over, his moustache she hated distracting her from the potential ramifications of her love life. Where Bruce did not care if she had other lovers, she hadn’t exactly had that conversation with Eddie in the three years they’d been dating.

Captain Gordon at a crime scene meant serious business, and the two of them shook hands, her father smiling like the idiot he was.

“Selina did not tell me you were back in town.” He pointed out, “I’ll call Alfred to set something up with Lee and the girls.”

Lee and the Girls did not mean Lee and the Girls. It meant Alfred, her almost-sister Barbara, her and mother would sit around the dinner table while Jim Gordon, picked Bruce’s brain about his travels. He was determined to figure out Bruce’s master plan, but Bruce didn’t even know what his master plan was.

The evening would inevitably end with a conversation about crime and Bruce cutting her father a check for his next election. He was confident he’d have enough internal pull to run for commissioner in two years.

Which meant he needed the support of the Wayne Family to get there.

Her preferred scenario was the two of them get dinner together, but it was a much better photo op to make it seem like they were friends. Which she supposed they were if they exchanged pleasantries at crime scenes.

“What happened?” Bruce had apparently decided to ignore Eddie in his police uniform and instead focused on her father and his ugly suit.

“Burglar at the high rise across the street.” Jimmy pointed up towards the new Gotham Heights luxury condos and a tiny broken window could be seen from their viewpoint across the street.

Both of them turn to look at her expectantly.

Putting her hands up defensively, “I was with Bruce all day.”

She was a little offended at how blasé they were about her stealing from people. Also that her father seemed to think that Bruce was a good influence on her. Eddie was too sweet and dumb to even pick up on their assumption.

If he knew his girlfriend robbed jewelry stores for fun, it would probably end their relationship. Or you know, a public outing with Bruce Wayne.

Having enough common sense not to rob someone in broad daylight, she preferred her marks to not know it was missing until she was far far away.

“Well I’ll let you two get back to your case.” Bruce smiled his fakest smile, his hand going to the small of her back.

Eddie punching him in the jaw comes as a surprise.

“You just couldn’t help it, could you? You swoop into town with your fancy car and your family name and you couldn’t just leave Selina alone. Had to do this dog-and-pony show to mark your territory.”

Eddie was making a scene and the paparazzi across the street were suddenly very interested in what’s going on.

“Officer! That is ENOUGH.”

“Selina isn’t my property and the only reason I’ve _tolerated_ your relationship with her is because you made her happy. Who Selina decides to spend time with is her decision.”

Jimmy gets him under control and heads back across the street. If Bruce were the suing kind, he could have Eddie’s badge for attacking him in broad daylight. But he would never do that to her father, and they would need to handle the situation with the press-

Bruce is already on the phone when she turns around, “Lucius we’ve had a situation.”

Shoving the spoon into his mouth he frowns up at her before swallowing. He finishes the call and simultaneously the three photographers get a phone call, putting down their cameras and deleting the images off them.

“I do not need you to fight my battles for me.”

“No you don’t. But sometimes you need someone to help you. The best thing for Gotham is to have Jim Gordon to be Police Commissioner and the last thing he needs is some beat cop sucker punching the most influential man in Gotham.”

She supposed that was true, but she was _Selina Kyle_ and the only thing she could think of is tripping him while he stood up, crashing face first into the concrete. Which made the waiter trip over his heels and the Mayor might not have gotten his lunch on time-

Beaming at him while she dabbed at his face with a napkin, Bruce would remember this lesson if it was the last thing she did.

(He may have retaliated by tripping her onto the bed later but she would that particular grievance go)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is 16.

“You left.”

Bruce doesn’t expect to see Selina, well anywhere, but most of all he doesn’t expect her to be at the airport, bags in hand.

There are people visiting family, people going on vacation. He would not be doing either of those things, but Selina, in a nice bright red coat and new shoes, looked like she could be one of those people. He could never be one of those people again.

“I’m back.”

There was a difference between coming and going and while he wasn’t sure how one sent a message to Penguin, he would have tried had he known she was expecting him to contact her. Which is what he told her while the two of them fell into step toward the baggage claim.

“Penguin’s in the wind. I- I moved in with Jimmy and Lee. We went to go visit her mother with the brat. All official and familial-like. Before school.”

Sometimes he thinks they talk in half-truths and assumptions, but there was a cadence to their relationship that while strained, felt normal. For instance: it was assumed she knew, that he knew school was starting back up and that was the reason he was back.

“Where’s Al?”

“He didn’t come with.”

Selina didn’t like that answer if the frown on her face was any indication. He had spent time with the foremost psychologist to learn about visual cues and while doing something tangible, like throwing punches, was more impactful, Alfred was convinced he needed to learn other things as well.

“You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Okay, _Mom_.” Bruce teased, which got him a punch to the shoulder. Selina never held back, and he’s sure that there would be some blood from all of her rings on her hand.

The brat, or Barbara Gordon to most people, was three.  He wasn’t exactly sure the significance, but she was a reminder that there was good in all people, a homage to the woman Barbara was. She was a red-haired beauty even as a toddler and she followed after Selina like it was her life’s mission.

“Cat?” She tugged on the bright red coat and Selina rolled her eyes before picking her up.

“I’ve been trying to tell her not to get caught sneaking away.”

It takes him a beat to realize that she wasn’t talking to him but to Captain Gordon behind his shoulder.

Exchanging pleasantries with the Gordons, Bruce grabbed his bag from the other luggage carousel.

“Is it cool if I catch a ride back with Bruce?”

Lee nods before leaning over to kiss her forehead, “Be home before curfew.”

Selina seemed to be adjusting to having parents well. And she needed better influences in her life than hardened criminals. But he wasn’t stupid- no one wears a trench coat during a heatwave unless they were picking pockets.

Selina almost hugs Lee, but stops herself, “Was that 2AM or 3, I always forget.”

“In the house by midnight. Not at the doorstep, not in the driveway.” Jim takes Babs from her arms and takes her luggage. “And if she tries to stash anything in your town car have Alfred stop by the Children’s Home on fifth and make a donation.”

Bruce was about to tell Captain Gordon that he drove himself to the airport, but Selina jabs him in the ribs. With his car keys. That were in his backpack.

Once in the parking garage, he’s not sure where this was going, but he’s learned from experience that letting Selina do what she pleased ended up well for him, and as long as she wasn’t committing any crimes-

She drives them to Wayne Manor and they sit in an awkward silence in the garage.

Her gloved hand moves towards his chin and their lips barely touch before she jerks back.

“-Master Bruce. Ms. Kyle.”

Alfred leans forward to turn off the engine and goes to the trunk to get his bags and he’s not sure the protocol for having a girl over whom your guardian had just seen you kiss, but she lets Alfred take her coat and sits at your dinner table like she owned the place and ordered like she was at a restaurant.

“I’ll have a burger. Two kinds of cheese. Fries. How’s the wine list? I’m thinking a Cab Sauv from 7 years ago. Summer wines are so robust. From _France_. Italy was unseasonably dry that summer.”

Apparently Selina spent her summer learning a new skill.

“Maybe when you’re actually legal to drink wine. For now you can have a grape juice.” Alfred responded. Selina cursed at him in French as a response.

He was going to ask how her summer was but she was already prepared for their social interaction.

“Gramma Thompkins owns a hotel. For rich people. I spent the summer with the sommelier and the chocolatier and the cigar steward. It was like summer camp.”

He’s sure she’s leaving out stories about the people she robbed, but she was just learning to embrace her conscience. Instead she tells funny stories about learning how to tell a mark by their cigar and wine choices.

“I learned how to deduce when people are lying.” Bruce responded, “Tell me something and I’ll tell you if you’re lying.”

Alfred brings their food out and the three of them eat in silence before she puts her silverware down and looks him in the eyes.

“I didn’t think of you once this summer, Bruce Wayne.”

Her pupils dilated, her pulse quickened.

“Lie.”

She held up the knife she had apparently jabbed into her thigh, “I wasn't lying.”

Bruce motioned to her foot, which had covered his own underneath the table. But a gentleman did not speak of such things, especially if they wanted to be kissed before dropping off girls at their home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce comes back to Selina after the events of Gotham's current storyline play out *MILD SPOILERS?*

“Please don’t say ‘I told you so’.”

Bruce is quiet, which is weird for him, but he has his little fancy tuxedo jacket folded over his arm, his tie loose around his neck. He looks like he was older, like a dude coming home from work after a long day. Not a kid.

She suddenly feels self-conscious about her place, it’s a mess and it’s dirty and she really needed to learn how to clean up and picking up the stray clothes and the stuff she’d lifted off the streets- he grabs her hand to stop her and kisses her.

Like really kisses her. Movie style. There should be popcorn and M&Ms and dramatic music.

She doesn’t ask about Silver or about why he’s here or how he even knew where she was, but his hand goes to her hair and he pushes it away from her face, his sweaty palm against her neck.

“I told you so.” Selina whispered, taking a step back from him. Licking her lips she dug an old tube of chapstick out of her pocket and ran it across her lips. He looks disappointed at her for saying it, but she pecks his lips one last time to remove any residual chaptick.

Obediently he rubbed his lips together, “I should have listened to you. I just- really wanted someone in my life that didn’t look at me like the poor little rich boy who lost his parents.”

“It didn’t hurt that you wanted to date the rich bitch, it hurt when you said we weren’t friends.”

“You did ignore me for the better part of the summer and after that.”

He was stupid. A stupid boy with a stupid haircut who wore stupid little suits, “I’m sorry, it’s not like I had an invitation to whatever the hell you’re doing in the basement. And I only showed up at your place that day to talk to you because I was waiting for Alfie to call the hell down. I may not be a genius but I know that when someone smacks you around once- they’ll do it twice.”

Selina left her own apartment out the window. She didn’t have time for Bruce today.

**

Three days later, he’s waiting for her on a rooftop, hoodie up. He almost fit in, dark clothes, hard lines on his face. His sneakers were brand new and so was the jacket but- he looked strangely at home next to the bird cage.

“I know you’re mad at me, and I know why, but I just came to say I didn’t know Alfred hit you and told you to stay away from me. It will never happen again.”

“Sure as shit it wont because I’ll take his eyes out next time, Butler or not.”

Bruce grabbed her hand that was going for the knife in her boot, “You will not take Alfred’s eyes out.”

“No promises.” Selina mumbled.

They stood there on the rooftop, her cheeks turning red, his hand on her wrist and she’s not sure what she should be doing or saying but he looks at her the whole time with this look, she can’t explain but it’s- nice.

“What do you- normally do- all day?” Bruce asks finally, taking his hand back and jamming it into his pocket. He suddenly looked out of place his body language was all wrong, he did not look like a kid from the streets.

Putting his shoulders back, she jerked his head up from the chin and wiggled his hips around to loosen him up. Kicking his legs apart she smiled after kicking some dirt onto his shoes and messing up his hair.

“Keep up!”

Selina swan dived off the edge of the building and rolled onto an awning before sliding off onto the pavement.

Looking up at Bruce she motioned for him to follow. He significantly missed the awning and for a moment Selina could picture his legs breaking and dragging him back to the Nurse she pulled her piece on-

But the bastard rolls his shoulder and lands somewhat on one wobbly knee.

“That was awesome.”

She pretends not to notice that while she was lifting wallets he was retuning money to them. He buys them dinner at Big Belly Burger, and she eats in earnest for the first time in weeks. Bruce didn’t eat much at all since his parents died which was crazy and maybe an eating disorder, but she motions at him to eat.

Then kicks him under the table until he does. He puts a fry into his mouth and chews so dramatically she can’t help but giggle.

“This is not food.”

“That’s because it’s fast. There’s always a tradeoff for stuff. It’s either fast or it’s food. Now eat. And then we get milkshakes for dessert.”

Bruce pushes his tray back and heads for the counter, ordering her a chocolate milkshake.  He comes back with two straws and if that stupid brat three tables would stop crying she’d really enjoy it. And that weird old perv who keeps staring at them. Flicking him off, she went back to her burger.

“My mother loved dessert. Would dip her fries in the shake and everything.” The only thing she could remember about her mother was her leaving.

Selina tries it and nods appreciatively, “Your Mom was a classy broad.”

“Thanks. I know.” Bruce mumbles eating the rest of their meal in silence. She filled him in on Gordon and her adventures and while he looked interested, he also looked- nervous.

Alfred is outside when they’re done eating and pretends to look casual but fails miserably. Bruce puts an arm to out to stop her, but she ducks it, grabbing her knife at the same time. She can’t reach his neck but the thigh would kill him pretty quick if she shoved the knife in deep enough.

“They would have killed him. Are you hearing me? His parents were good people and they raised him right, he trusts people. It’s our job to keep him safe and if I find out you’re slacking again, I’ll come for you too, Old Man. Trust.”

Putting the blade back into her boot she kisses Bruce on the cheek before heading back to her apartment.

She prides herself on not crying until she’s alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own DC comics and make no profit from this work of fiction.  
> This will be a never ending anthology of fics.


End file.
